Well this draft started for my beloved Portland Trailblazers, the day before the Flagg Festivities. For a team that was missing three point shooting and that needed to jettison some veteran players to allow runway for our younger players while needing to grow our pile of draft capital.
Oops, all that out the door to the Celtics for Jrue Holiday, whom we had traded to the Celtics as part of the Dame Deal. Oh and he has a new big, three year contract as well. The Blazers are now a very expensive team that barely missed the play-in tournament and are not a lock to be that close next year. All to pay Holiday for Championships won for the Bucks and Celtics.
Then on draft day they made up those second round picks plus a little by giving the 11th pick to Memphis for the 16th this year and a 2028 First Rounder plus two new Second Rounders. Then inexplicably they chose a consensus project in 20 year old Chinese center Hansen Yang. Nicknamed (optimistically) the Chinese Joker in a nod to Denver All-Star Nikola Jokic.
All this leads to possible future activity but in the aftermath for myself and Blazer fans, find the biggest baddest bitterest Triple IPA you can find and hope that this is leading to something better.